What is the correct French word for brisket?

Question

What word can I use to accurately describe brisket of beef in French? I usually go to the butcher with a chart of US beef cuts and point to it but it neer seems to correspond to the same piece. Does anyone know the definitive translation?

I don't know where you live, but if you are in Paris, if you go to a butcher on rue des Rosiers (in the traditionally Jewish area of Paris), they will know what a brisket is - I've gotten some there. — JDelage, Mar 15 '11 at 05:38

TFD · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-05T08:51:03.090

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It's not that simple. Every culture cuts their beef differently (or not at all!) and therefore has different names for it

Around the Belgium, Dutch, French low lands they call what the US call brisket and flank, just flank. And what other parts of France might call brisket is not always cut separately, it is just part of the chuck

Confused, we are...

Many butchers in cities receive partially processed carcass parts, so parts like the chest (brisket) may have been removed for processed meat etc

So you need to take a cutting diagram to a butcher whom displays whole carcasses and you should be able to get what you want

As I understand it the brisket extends from in front on the fore legs, between the forelegs and a short way past them? When we have a beast killed most of that goes into the salamis, yum!

Edit: Some common words used are:

Flanchet
Plat de côte
Poitrine
Tendron

A popular brisket cut is a long thin (10mm) strip of the full width of the brisket (left to right). A serving is a single slice slowly grilled and topped with a chunky sauce

edited Aug 05 '12 at 08:51

answered Mar 15 '11 at 02:11

TFD

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To surmise: there may not *exist* a word to describe brisket to a French butcher. My German mom could never get the exact cuts she wanted in the Netherlands - and those are neighbouring countries. But try taking the charts and images to different butchers until you find one that gives you something you like. – Erik P. Mar 15 '11 at 13:46
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@Erik : quite true; I remember watching a UK chef talk about a 'feather steak', which not only wasn't an official name, but came from the way that the primals were broken down, so just doesn't exist in the U.S. And even when you do have names, they might be only barely overlapping areas (eg, [sirloin in the US vs. UK](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category%3aCuts_of_beef)) – Joe Mar 15 '11 at 16:52
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The traditional cuts can also vary within countries, I remember reading (probably in Kästner's "Die verschwundene Miniatur", where the main character is a German butcher) that the traditional cuts of meat are quite different in different regions of Germany. – Theodore Murdock Aug 05 '12 at 20:34

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 05 '12 at 04:15

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The UN has a standards document that contains translations of beef cuts from English to French, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese. (To try to work around the fact that everybody has slightly different cuts of meat.)

They list:

(Boneless) Brisket - Poitrine sans os
Brisket deckle off - Morceaude poitrine sans os épluché
Brisket navel plate - Flanchet / tendron sans os
Brisket point end deckle off - Gros bout de poitrine sans os épluché

answered Aug 05 '12 at 04:15

Steve

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Good spotting! Typical UN document, nothing to do with harmonising people, just harmonising large scale global trade – TFD Aug 05 '12 at 20:30
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excellent pointer to standards document! People may laugh at this sort of text, but it is really important that, when you send a shipload of beef from Argentina to Belgium, there is a very clear understanding of what exactly is beef, what it should look like and how it should be cut. Good trade relationship make for good international friendship. – Walter A. Aprile Jun 09 '13 at 12:29

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 13 '13 at 09:30

I live in Bordeaux but used to live in Texas. Here is my "modus operandi" when I need a specific piece of meat like the brisket. I show my butcher a diagram and show him the part I need. The usual term for brisket is "poitrine" I ask him to cut a piece of 5 kilos and to leave the fat on the top of it. He knows me now and always tell me when he has a entire beef coming in, that way he is sure the brisket is still there. They usually don't sell it in France so I pay +/- 5 euro/kg. "Pointe de poitrine" seems to be the right word for brisket. Enjoy!

Ahh ... pictures. If there's one thing I've learned from IKEA, it's to give up on words and stick with pictures. — Joe, Sep 13 '13 at 15:41

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 14 '11 at 23:57

If you're living in France then I apologize if my Canadian French leads you astray, but according to the (bilingual, obviously) Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the terms are:

Pointe de poitrine (Brisket or flat brisket)
Poitrine complète (Full brisket)

Here's that same page in English if you want to cross reference other cuts.

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 14 '11 at 23:56

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The French word is le tendron, it is also known as le gros bout de poitrine.*

Sources:

http://www.civ-viande.org/ebn.ebn?pid=62&rubrik=4&morceau=2&contenu=1
http://www.civ-viande.org/ebn.ebn?pid=56&rubrik=5&item=37 (interactive graphic)

Use Google Translate to translate from French to English.

*_{I do not speak French}

answered Mar 14 '11 at 23:56

hobodave

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Not terribly surprised that the Canadian version is different... in your case, *le tendron* would be the full brisket (owing to its 10 kg weight); the other one must be the flat brisket. – Aaronut Mar 15 '11 at 00:00
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My French is poor, but I would be cautious using the "tendron" word, while in classic french it means flesh from ribs (brisket), it more often means "young girl" :-) – TFD Mar 15 '11 at 20:47
don't worry the flesh meaning is the first that comes to a french mind – Nikko Oct 02 '15 at 19:16

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 15 '11 at 00:01

The Canadian Beef Council has a bilingual chart of beef cuts (PDF) which might be useful.

(Although, French and Canadian cuts might not be the same, even if they're in the same language; I know US and UK aren't. But with pictures, the butcher might be able to identify the correct bits for you)

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 24 '14 at 17:35

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In a fantastic French cookbook called Saveurs Américaines, Editions du Chêne, 2002 the brisket recipe calls for JUMEAU de BOEUF.

answered Jan 24 '14 at 17:35

Anne

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score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 15 '14 at 16:40

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Google translate . Pointe de poitrine de boeuf is the correct translation , I had it verified by my butcher when I asked him for the cut he knew no question asked .

answered Mar 15 '14 at 16:40

Vince

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score 0 · Answer 9 · edited Sep 09 '18 at 21:38

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OK, be careful- someone suggested poitrine, you need to specify poitrine de boeuf. I say this because I accidentally bought what seems to be pork belly by just saying "poitrine".

edited Sep 09 '18 at 21:38

Divi

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answered Sep 09 '18 at 21:00

acquireCats

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score -1 · Answer 10 · answered Aug 04 '12 at 22:37

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Look here, english french terms.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/francais/fssa/labeti/mcmancv/beeboe1f.shtml

answered Aug 04 '12 at 22:37

Philippe

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That's Canadian French? – TFD Oct 03 '12 at 05:30

What is the correct French word for brisket?

10 Answers10